The International WELL Building Institute’s (IWBI) WELL Building Standard has now been adopted across more than 6 billion square feet (over 557 million square meters) of property in nearly 100,000 sites throughout 137 countries. This remarkable milestone showcases a strong global movement toward designing spaces that prioritize human health and well-being. Widely recognized as the premier framework for healthy buildings and organizations, WELL is currently embraced by over 180 Fortune and Global 500 companies and is positively impacting an estimated 30 million people.

Since early 2020, WELL’s footprint has expanded twelvefold, reflecting a major financial commitment by the real estate sector and beyond to embed health and wellness into workplace strategy. This rapid growth is estimated to represent over $2 trillion in managed assets, underscoring WELL’s value as both a health initiative and a strategic investment.

“This achievement marks a pivotal shift: investing in health is not an expense—it’s a strategic advantage,” stated IWBI President and CEO Rachel Hodgdon. “By keeping human well-being at the center, WELL-certified spaces are driving better health outcomes, greater financial returns, and more effective, satisfied teams. The scale is astonishing—our 6-billion-square-foot portfolio nearly rivals the total commercial space of the United Kingdom.”

Since its inception in 2014, thousands of organizations have used WELL as a scientifically validated guide to implement health-focused strategies in their offices, facilities, and communities. A wide range of global corporations are engaging in IWBI’s WELL at scale program to roll out these standards organization-wide. These include major names such as Barclays, Bloomberg, Cisco, Citi, Deloitte, EY, GSK, JLL, Johnson Controls, Lendlease, PwC Italy, SAP, T-Mobile, Uber, and Warner Brothers Discovery, among many others.

“WELL is revolutionizing commercial real estate, touching the lives of millions by ensuring their environments support both physical and mental health in tangible, measurable ways,” said IWBI COO Prateek Khanna. “By tracking metrics like air and water quality, lighting, and comfort, WELL enables spaces that help people truly thrive.”

Today’s employers are increasingly focused on fostering environments that support well-being to boost employee satisfaction and talent retention. Research has shown that WELL-certified buildings outperform their conventional and even green-certified counterparts in numerous ways:

“Companies that invest in the health and performance of their workforce are setting themselves up for long-term success,” Hodgdon added. “Healthy, valued, and engaged employees take fewer sick days, cost less in healthcare, are less likely to leave, and contribute more.”

This major update was announced at IWBI’s second annual Social Sustainability Summit in Amsterdam, which convened industry leaders from across real estate, finance, policy, and corporate sectors to examine the growing importance of social sustainability in business strategy. Sessions focused on themes such as “Driving performance in real estate” and “Investing in health pays back.”

From an investment standpoint, Hodgdon emphasized, “Organizations that care for their workers, their supply chains, and their communities are increasingly seen as lower-risk and more promising investments. Data from WELL implementations is helping institutional investors make smarter, more resilient choices.”

WELL now ranks as the third most widely used certification in the GRESB real estate assessment, accounting for 9% of total certified and rated floor area. Since the close of 2024, it has been included in 12 types of financial instruments—ranging from green and social bonds to sustainability-linked loans—and has been integrated into frameworks and guidance documents across 24 countries on five continents.

Developed over a decade and grounded in the latest scientific insights, WELL offers a roadmap covering ten key domains: Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Movement, Thermal Comfort, Sound, Materials, Mind, and Community. Its offerings include multiple pathways like WELL Certification, the WELL Health-Safety Rating, WELL Performance Rating, WELL Equity Rating, WELL Coworking Rating, WELL Community Standard, and the WELL for residential pilot. Together, these form a holistic, evidence-based system to promote health in buildings and communities.

The global WELL movement is supported by more than 28,000 accredited WELL APs, over 300 WELL Faculty members, and 30+ WELL Enterprise Providers—all working to embed wellness principles into the places people live and work.

Endorsements from IWBI Governance Council Members:

The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), a leading global authority on promoting healthier environments in buildings, organizations, and communities, has revealed the recipients of its 2024 IWBI Organizational Awards. These accolades celebrate organizations that have demonstrated outstanding leadership and wide-reaching impact through their involvement with the WELL program—covering more than one billion square feet of space.
This year’s distinguished awardees include several major global and Fortune 500 companies such as Citi Global, Enel, GSK, and JPMorgan Chase & Co., alongside renowned real estate portfolios like Embassy REIT, Empire State Realty Trust, and Lendlease.

“Progress in the WELL movement is driven by visionary organizations around the globe,” said Rachel Hodgdon, IWBI’s President and CEO. “This year’s winners have deeply impressed us through their commitment to creating people-first spaces and advancing global well-being. We are deeply grateful for their leadership and dedication.”

Citi stood out with multiple honors, particularly for its strategic implementation of the WELL Health-Safety Rating on a global scale. This achievement earned them the Health and Safety Leadership Award. “The global application of the WELL Health-Safety Rating aligns with our commitment to supporting healthy, fulfilling lives,” said Karinna Carrillo, Global Sustainability and Wellness Operations Analyst at Citi. “It validates our long-standing efforts and reinforces our global workforce strategy through a research-backed framework.”

The 2024 IWBI Organizational Award winners include:

This year’s awards highlight the accelerating global adoption of WELL’s evidence-based strategies to improve occupant health, performance, and well-being. WELL’s impact has expanded tenfold in the past five years, now encompassing nearly six billion square feet globally.

Most recognized organizations are scaling WELL across large property portfolios, allowing for measurable improvements in organizational health outcomes. Between 2023 and 2024, WELL’s influence grew significantly: participant-reported reach increased by 72%, WELL Certifications rose by 42%, and Platinum-level certifications jumped by 73%. The WELL Equity Rating also saw exponential growth—up nearly ninefold from the previous year.

Oceania topped regional performance rankings based on WELL Scores, followed by Europe. Lendlease, based in Australia, received multiple awards for leadership and concept excellence in categories such as Sound, Nourishment, Materials, Mind, Community, and Innovation.

"Lendlease is honored to lead the way in advancing well-being in the built environment,” said Vanessa Orth, Managing Director at Lendlease Investment Management Australia. “Being the first globally to secure a WELL Portfolio Score shows the power of WELL strategies at scale. Our collaboration with IWBI has been pivotal in promoting healthier, more sustainable workplaces worldwide.”

As WELL becomes an integral part of ESG and annual reporting initiatives, IWBI also recognized leaders in health investment. HB Reavis, for example, was acknowledged for embedding WELL standards into its sustainable finance strategy. “Earning the Sustainable Finance Award highlights how we’re aligning WELL certification goals with financial KPIs,” said Abhishek Parmar, Head of Sustainable Development at HB Reavis.

All award recipients will be celebrated at WELL 2025, a global event series hosted by IWBI, with summits taking place across major cities around the world.

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